Rafael Castillo- Week #20

Another Six Weeks...

Well, the results are in, I am in Castillo for another six weeks, and Elder Shields is staying with me. Elder Marchello got transferred to Moreno, and Elder Fox is going to be a Papi! He will be training a new Elder that is flying in today, so I am not going to be the youngest elder in the pench. Ciris came to church this week, so if he comes one more time I am putting him in the water. The problem is, is that he finds out on Thursdays if he is going to have to work on his school project on the weekend, so send some prayers his way. We told him he can start preparing to serve a mission, and he said he wants to. So we asked him where he would want to go and he says, "Wherever God sends me..." We just started laughing at him, and tried to pry an answer out of him, finally he just smiled and kind of said under his breath, "....England..." Haha it is so amazing how prepared he is to accept and live the gospel.

Something crazy happened at transfer meeting though. President is opening up a new area in the mission, and the two who are opening it are Elder Ilief, who is from southern Argentina, Patagonia region, and also supposed to go home tomorrow, and Elder Lopez, from Brazil...Brazil region...who is starting his last transfer. So Elder Ilief accepted an extension, and Elder Lopez came down from the Zone Leaders to both go out there and end their missions opening an area where nobody knows who the missionaries are. That would be SWEET!!! Also, last transfer (my first) the mission had 66 baptisms, and the focus has been to duplicate baptisms, so we go to transfer meeting, and the APs tell us that we have set a new record for baptisms in the mission, the old record was 130, set like a year ago or something, and this transfer we reached 135! We totally duplicated from last transfer! and we broke the record! Everybody was cheering and clapping...but I felt like an idiot haha because we didn't contribute to that number at all, but whatever. Also, President Benton set the new goal at 186 for the transfer we just started. The Lord will provide a way, or else he wouldn't have asked us to duplicate our baptisms by next year.

Anyway, I couldn't think of anything I want for Christmas, as usual, but I mean it can't be that hard. Socks, garments, Motab Christmas cds, Motab Showtime, cool ties (ok so there is a big confusion about ties, what are flashy and what aren't, and I have come to the realization that just because the tie is a power tie, does not mean it is flashy, I can wear nice ties that look fashionable) other than that I really don’t know what you could send. Eating with Elder Shields' uncle last week was cool. We thought we were going to capital, but ended up just eating in Ramos Mejia where the offices are. I ate some good steak and ribs, it was so good. His uncle was a nice guy, and teaches an Argentine History Class at BYU that I will probably look into when I get back.

Dad's trip sounded good, and that is crazy about the protests, and yes we heard about the elections from everyone. Everyone wants our opinion on it here, but we just brush it off and talk about the gospel. Anyway, that’s cool we could break that race barrier, and hopefully things work out in the country, I will be sending prayers in behalf of the Obama family, but it’s funny how before coming here I loved talking politics and watching that kind of stuff, and now in the work, it doesn't interest me at all, and I could care less who would have won, because there is Someone more important than any other, guiding me in His work. It has really put things in perspective, that the Savior should be the number one purpose, focus, and person in everyone's life.

Well to end, I have something to say to Grandma and Mom. It is interesting how just this morning I was reading some old conference talks (because that is what I do for fun in my free time now haha) and I read a GREAT one by Elder Wirthlin. It is from the October 2006 conference, and called "Sunday Will Come". As soon as I read it I thought of Grandpa and Grandma, and how she is doing without him. Elder Wirthlin relates his own experience of losing his wife and how he is dealing with it. It really is a message of hope and I was really edified by it. I love the analogy he uses of the Savior's death and Resurrection. And how the time between death and the resurrection is a dark one for those who have lost loved ones, but oh how great the joy will be when we are together again as a family. Let's live worthy to have that great opportunity guys. Let's make sure that we will get to live together forever. I encourage everyone to read it.

I love you,
Sean

P.S. I bought a new camera today! It is a Kodak M1063, and seems pretty good. It has 10.3 megapixels and all the gadgets, and I don't need batteries for it, it charges in the wall. It cost 800 pesos, which seems like a lot, but when I looked at a few different stores, most other ones of that caliber were costing over 1000. So I am happy with that, thanks mom and dad, that could be my Christmas present if you want.